INQUIRER Sports

THE QUEZON CITY REGIONAL TRIAL court has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) barring the group of Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham Tolentino from handling the affairs of the national cycling team.

The Oct. 12 order, penned by Judge Ramon Paul Hernando of Branch 93, also prohibits Tolentino from representing himself as the president of PhilCycling in activities sanctioned by the Philippine Olympic Committee.

The TRO is a victory for the group of sportsman Mikee Romero, who was elected in a Philippine Olympic Committee-supervised polls as PhilCycling president last May 9 at the Amoranto Sports Complex.

Tolentino refused to accept the results of the elections and said his group enjoys the recognition of the International Cycling Union (UCI).

In a statement, Romero lamented that the leadership struggle could take its toll on the national squad bound for the Southeast Asian Games in Laos.

The Asian Cycling Federation, which will supervise cycling in the SEA Games, had earlier announced that only the riders to be sent by Tolentino?s group will be allowed to compete in Laos.

?At last, the cycling row is over, but the most affected would be the chances of our riders in the 2009 SEAG in Laos,? said Romero, who has bankrolled the staging of open tryouts for the national team.

Romero has also pledged incentives to the cycling medalists in the Laos Games.

?The lack of preparation and competition brought about by the cycling problems will severely affect our athletes? chances,? he said.

The order against Tolentino covers events like the Olympics, Asian Games, Southeast Asian Games and other competitions in which POC sanction is mandated, the court said.

PhilCycling legal counsel Samuel Estimo defended the procedure taken by the POC to solve the impasse, saying that Tolentino even participated in the arbitration sessions conducted by the Olympic body.

The panel was headed by International Olympic Committee representative to the Philippines Frank Elizalde.